What Your MLM Prospects Are Thinking

Let's try an experiment ...

A few months ago I created a poll asking people what they thought would help them in building their MLM or network marketing home-based business.

The response was excellent for 2 reasons (according to the feedback you gave me):

1. People enjoyed being able to give their input and express themselves.
2. People found that looking at the results of the survey gave them insight into the minds of their potential prospects and what they are looking for ... thus helping them to target their marketing efforts more effectively.

So let's try another survey, and here's the question for today:

Traditional MLM has taught for decades that we should build our business through our "warm list" and the "3-foot rule." Some argue that it's still the best way to build a downline because MLM is all about relationships.

Others contend that the world has changed. We now live in the Internet age and must adapt with the times. Marketing online allows us to reach more people and is more fun.

What's your opinion? Is Internet marketing for MLM superior to the traditional warm market approach or is it all hype?

This time instead of using Squidoo to create a poll, I think it would be more interesting to see people's actual comments.

So I invite you to click the "Comments" link immediately below this article, and a window will pop up where you can type in your opinion on this question. You can also read other people's comments there.

Feel free to write as much or as little as you want, and even ask questions.

Thanks for participating. This could be a provide some great insights for all of us!

It's a Great Tool

Just a quick update on the last post ...

At the end of March I posted about a new tool I came across called Quick Blaze.

It's an online automatic dialing system, essentially a computer as I understand it.

You load your leads into their their web site, then schedule the calls. It dials all your leads for you while you do something else (answer emails, write letters, read my blog).

• When it connects with an answering machine it will leave a message you pre-record.
• When it reaches a live person, it will ring your phone so you can pick up and talk to them.

This avoids the long, frustrating process of making calls and not reaching people which is so tediously common today.

When I wrote about it in the last post, my organization hadn't tried it yet.

Now, however, I have received word from one of my top up-and-coming leaders that he is loving it, saying he'd never go back to calling his own leads again .... ever!

I don't get any affiliate commissions if you get the service, but I just wanted to pass along this update that the service is real, it works, and it can save you and your downline hours of frustration.

Isn't technology a wonderful thing?

Leverage Your Leads to the Max!

I don't do this much any more, but back in the day I built a big part of my MLM business over the telephone.

I'd buy network marketing leads and start dialing for dollars.

Calling leads was great because I could "work the numbers" so much faster than using the 3-foot rule. The phone was a leveraging tool that allowed me to talk to a lot of people every day.

After developing some skills, it worked pretty darn well. In fact, I got so serious about it that I eventually opened my own telemarketing center.

But the times, they are a changin.'

These days people are busy, they're out and about, they use answering machines and voicemail, and they screen their calls.

The telephone is not the leveraging tool it used to be. In fact, the biggest frustration of phone prospecting is trying to reach someone live on the telephone.

I've had times where I spent anywhere from 30-40 minutes making calls without reaching even one human being live on the phone!

Professional call centers can really leverage the phone because they have "predictive dialers." These are computers hooked up to multiple phone lines. The computers make many calls simultaneously and only when a live person answers the phone does the computer then connect that call with a telemarketer. In this way, the telemarketers have no down time and they are always talking to live prospects.

Of course those computers are expensive and require the cost of many phone lines.

However ...

Like so many other things, that technology is now available to people with very modest budgets who work from home.

I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard good things.

One company that offers this service is Quick Blaze

Here's how it works:

Basically, you upload your phone list to their database, and record a message to be left on answering machines.

Then it will start calling all your numbers. It will leave your message on all voicemail and answering machines. When it reaches a live person, your phone will ring so you can pick it up and talk to the prospect.

Whenever it reaches an answering machine or voicemail, it will leave the message that you prerecorded.

You can read about it and even view their video demos at: www.quickblaze.com

If you sign up, the site will ask for a referral ID, but I'm not an affiliate with them so you can just skip that part.

Sounds like a great way to leverage your time and avoid the modern challenge of reaching people via the phone.

Building On A Budget

All home business owners can now learn the best ways to build any home business nearly free, using these latest internet marketing techniques.

It’s ruthless. Today, succeeding in the “work at home” arena is harder than ever with the painful advertising costs and “expensive” cut throat competition. Spending a small fortune to keep their businesses afloat, most home business owners find themselves throwing in the towel before they even begin.

But with the new "Building On A Budget” platform, large pocketbooks may no longer be needed to grow a lucrative home business.

Now aspiring and success driven entrepreneurs who have little or no money to advertise, can learn the most potent ways to build any home business using the latest online marketing strategies, in many cases without spending a dime.

Anyone truly wanting to build their MLM or Network Marketing company for pennies on the dollar, can request their free case studies at the Building On A Budget web site.

“Building On A Budget” looks to be a dependable solution for all of today’s home business owners looking for maximum exposure without giving up their paycheck.

How To Market Online - What REALLY Works.

The last 2 years I've hired some of the greatest minds to work with me on marketing my MLM business on the Internet.

It was very expensive, but it has really paid off.

Now signing up new distributors, getting new customers and building my business online is, dare I say it ... EASY!

It really is.

But it took a long time to get here.

The learning curve was steep. And getting everything in place - the web sites, the lead generation, the marketing campaigns - those were not easy.

However, now that everything's in place, it's pretty automatic.

It's been such a blessing to me that I decided I would share it with you now too. However I'm going to spare you the thousands of dollars and years invested that I spent.

I have several projects in the works to share with you, but can't decide which to offer first. So I figure the best thing to do is simply let YOU DECIDE!

I ask you to take this quick multiple choice survey to let me know what you'd like to learn the most about.

Majority wins!

It will only take a minute and it will be fun!

Click Here to take survey

Thanks, and I'll let you know the results of the survey right here real soon.

Are "Funded Proposals" a Good Way to Prospect?

Another great question came in through the "Ask Barry" service from one of our fellow blog readers. It asked about whether leading with a "Funded Proposal" is a good way to build your primary network marketing company.

The answer is ... well, let's start at the beginning:

What is a funded proposal?

The quick and easy explanation is this: Instead of advertising your business opportunity or your MLM products, you advertise something else that you sell, usually an educational report.

You sell this up front, and then use your MLM as the "back-end offer."

The reasoning is that you make money by selling them something on the front end, therefore lowering or even eliminating the cost of generating leads.

Does it work?

Yes, but only IF you have an excellent offer to sell.

• It must be attractive from a marketing perspective (so you sell a lot of books).
• It must contain content that has real value (so your customer will appreciate it and come back to you in the future).
  

Some people object to this approach saying, "Why don't you just use your own MLM company's product to use as the front end offer and retail that?"

You absolutely can, and that's a very valid idea. However it is a different angle and doesn't produce the same results (I'm not saying better or worse; just different).

Here's why:

In marketing, as in life, you get what you ask for. So if you're asking for a customer for a nutrition product in your ad, then that's what you get ... not a business builder.

Sure, a small percentage may become distributors, but not many because that wasn't what you targeted in your advertising.

On the other hand, if you advertise a book on the super secrets of how to succeed in multi-level marketing, then you will attract people who are interested in a MLM business opportunity.

BUT ...

You will also attract people who are most likely already in a network marketing business!

So here's the deal:

The funded proposal is a great approach, but it is more of a long-term approach. You can use it to help fund your building of a list of serious MLM entrepreneurs (they did spend money to learn about MLM success after all), stay in communication with them, build a relationship with them, and over time, when they are ready (i.e. if they quit their current company), you will be there to sponsor them into your business.

Sure, you'll find some who are ready to join you right now, but the ratio will be much lower than if you directly advertise your business opportunity.

So what should you do?

I do all 3 approaches:

1. I advertise my network marketing company's product to get customers.
2. I advertise my network marketing company's business opportunity to get distributors.
3. I advertise funded proposals to develop relationships with serious networkers who aren't ready to join with me now ... but may later.

Oh, and one more thing that is really BIG:

I've found one of the BEST parts of having a funded proposal (that most people don't do) is this:

Instead of using it only as a front-end offer, you can use it as a back-end offer to.

Most prospects who consider your business opportunity aren't going to enroll. So ...

After they've decided not to enroll, offer them your e-book, special report, etc. You'll be surprised how many will buy it! And this will help offset your costs of generating the leads that don't sign up.

Here are the 2 best funded proposals that I know of.

• Magnetic Sponsoring
• Renegade Network Marketer
  

Both of these are proven to be attractive offers, are reputable affiliate programs, and offer education that has real value to the people who buy them from you. I personally use them both and have found them to be excellent.

How To Get Prospects To Enroll With You, Part 2

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and holiday, didn't party too much on New Years Eve, and is looking forward to a wonderful 2008.

2 posts ago I started with Part 1 of this article. Then I wrote about the new contest that I invited you all to join. It came up all of a sudden, and I think it's such a great opportunity that I didn't want to wait to tell you about it. As a result it landed between part 1 and part 2 of this series.

So let's get on with: "How To Get Prospects To Enroll With You, Part 2."

There is no one "right way" to build your MLM organization.

Many people will tell you there is. In fact now that I'm focusing my downline-building efforts on the Internet, I have had people (many of them leaders) tell me, "I wish you'd build your business the right way."

That peeves me!

But I keep my cool and ask them, "Oh, please enlighten me, what is the 'right way?'"

Predictably they tell me it's to approach your warm market and after you've exhausted that, use some variation of the 3-foot rule.

To which I respond:

"You know, I did that for 3 years and failed miserably! When I abandoned that completely and started using what you call 'cold market' approaches, I started making thousands of dollars. And since then I've made MILLIONS of dollars in network marketing. So please tell me, why is your way right and my way wrong, when your way made me lose money and my way has made me literally millions?"

Of course they don't like to hear that. None of those people have changed their minds when I share this with them.

I think they're very narrow-minded.

You see I'm not against their approach. If approaching your friends and family and using the 3-foot rule works for you, then I'm all for it. In fact I include it as an option for people when they join my business because for some people it does work.

But for me, it never did.

I can't figure out why they're so dogmatic about their approach.

I'm totally pragmatic. Whatever is ethical and makes money is the "right way."

I've marketed through magazines, newspapers, telemarketing, card decks, large meetings, home parties, radio ...

... but the best marketing approach for me EVER is what I'm doing right now, and that is marketing on the Internet.

I've been successful with the other methods over the years, but none of them have been even remotely as effective as Internet marketing.

But, like most things, you have to know HOW TO do it "right."

Just marketing on the Internet is not the key. It's how you do it. And most people do it wrong. Completely wrong!

Here's the wrong way:

Put up a web site about your company, products, compensation plan and support system.

Here's the right way:

Establish a valuable relationship with other people online by providing them a lot of value. But it must be REAL value, and you must be very generous, and you must give to them without requiring anything in return from them.

It's actually a very spiritual approach: Be a giver without demanding anything in return.

People who are desperate to enroll others cannot find it within themselves psychologically to do this. They are too needy. They don't think they have anything of value to offer. They just want some people to sign up. They're too focused on the money. And for all these reasons they will continue to fail until they change their entire approach.

This approach requires commitment, unselfish giving, confidence, and an unwavering decision to serve others.

Ironically, putting your focus on benefiting others (even if it isn't profitable for you) turns out to be the most profitable thing you can do!

In that spirit, allow me to share a little something with you:

You can get a free web site builder at www.weebly.com

This is an absolutely fantastic service and I give it to you freely (this is not an affiliate link and I' don't receive any benefit from you signing up for the service).

It gives you a:

• Free web site that is unburdened with advertising!
  
• Free hosting
• Super easy web site builder and designer
• Free Blog
• Templates you can use to be online today!

How would you use this?

Remember in Part 1 of this article I referred to the survey that asked why distributors signed up with their particular sponsor ... and the answer was that they "liked their sponsor." That's where your personal web site comes in.

You use it to create a site that introduces YOU. Of course you can add information about your company, products, etc. (check your company's policies first), but the focus should be on you and your story.

You don't have to be a heavy-hitter. The purpose of the site is not to impress people with how successful you are.

• The purpose is to help them get to know you. People want to be sponsored by people they know.
• The purpose is to help them get to like you. People want to be sponsored by people they like.

Your personal web site serves to warm up your prospect to you. It's to begin the development of your friendship with your prospects.

More on this "how to" in the future.

.

YOU WILL WIN THIS MLM CONTEST FOR SURE!

Earlier this year I entered a contest for home-business owners that was sponsored by Robert Allen ("Multiple Streams of Income") and Prosper Learning.

I won!

See award at left. It was for building a $2.5 million network marketing business.

Why did I do it?

First of all, it was FUN. Building my business in the context of a contest against other business builders made the entire process more enjoyable.

Second, it helped me FOCUS my efforts. There was a goal, a time limit, and lots of support and training. This really helped me build faster and in a more concentrated manner than I would have otherwise.

The entire experience was very positive and I encourage you to check out Prosper Learning for all of their programs including the contest.

Now there's a new contest, held by another group that I encourage you to join because you will all be winners!

This is a pivotal moment in the history of Network Marketing, much more than "a contest"...

As Ken Evoy says:

"The $20,000 World Championship InterNETwork Marketing Contest" is actually a one-year coaching/ training/ forums/ collaboration 'CO-OPETITION.' It's the most revolutionary event that the Network Marketing world has ever seen online."

Anywhere else you'd pay big money to receive this kind of serious training and growth for your business..

They're not only giving you tremendous personal training and support, they're adding some serious cash prizes to add some spark and fun.

As Ken continues:

"And that's exactly what you should expect. Sparks. Fun. Banter and commentary and feedback in the forums, everyone pushing each other to be better. And there's a special coaching bonus from Ann Sieg, the Renegade Network Marketer."

Everyone's a winner because not only do you have the possibility to win cash prizes, but even if you don't, you will still receive an entire year of free mentoring from some of the best people in network marketing and Internet marketing: Ann Sieg and Ken Evoy.

There's a small window of time in which you can enroll, so you better check it out now here:

"The $20,000 World Championship
InterNETwork Marketing Contest"

.

The 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing

I haven't been able to update my blog as much as I'd like. I've been busy working on a new project which ran into some technical glitches (still being worked on) and then we had a death in the family which required travel and took a tremendous emotional toll on us.

Life is starting to get back to a routine now and if we can get our I.T. people to work out the technical kinks (fingers crossed), I'll have some new things to share with you (including the new series of 5 videos I mentioned last month).

Until then, here's a free e-book for you.

Ann Sieg wrote this and it's the second-best book on MLM I've read in years. The first best book is her other one, "The Renegade Network Marketer, but that one isn't free.

The message of this book is very refreshing. She's saying a lot of the same things I've been saying for several years now so I really appreciate having another voice standing against the old wore-out and out-dated network marketing traditional training philosophy (that never actually worked to begin with!).

Ann Sieg exposes them to the wind in this new and fresh look at our industry, and most importantly, how the average person can find real success by bucking traditional approaches.

Click on the book cover to get the free report now (there's a free video with it too):

Prospects Tell You How To Enroll Them!

What's the best way to uncover what prospects really want from you?

Ask them!

But there are problems:

1. Not everyone knows what they want.
2. Not everyone knows the options.
3. Not everyone is educated enough to know what's best for them.
   

So here's what we do:

1. We only ask educated network marketers.
2. We only ask serious prospects.
3. We ask enough people, over a period of time, to give us substantial statistics.

Enter: The Squidoo MLM Survey!

This survey is a free tool for you and you can access it right now.

As of today, I'm opening it up for those serious about MLM and network marketing.

Simply go to:

http://www.squidoo.com/mlmsurvey

... and complete the simple 5-Question multiple-choice survey yourself.

After you've completed the survey (it takes about 90 seconds), you will receive instant access to the results of everyone's answers.

Go back periodically to see what prospects are looking for in a business opportunity. They will actually be telling you what they want you to put in your marketing materials, e-mails, letters and phone calls!

This is great market research.

I haven't opened this survey up to everyone. Only people who are doing active searches on the Internet for MLM opportunities and also those who are already seriously involved in network marketing.

This will give us lower numbers, but will provide a survey of the kind of people we actually want in our downlines - people who take initiative, who are serious ... people like ourselves!

The survey is just starting, so to motivate you "early-birds," I'm providing a free gift to encourage you to be one of the first to complete the survey ...

You'll receive my brand-new 5-Part VIDEO Series on how to build a downline FAST that reveals the new ... "MLM BLITZ METHOD"

This training is absolutely cutting-edge. These videos have never been seen by anyone, anywhere before. But you can get them for answering 5 simple questions that will take you less than 2 minutes.

... and you'll get the benefit of viewing the results of the survey (updated in real time) over the weeks and months to follow, to help with your own marketing.

So this is your invitation to go there right now:

• Complete the 5-question multiple-choice survey.
• Get the 5 free videos on how to build a downline fast using the MLM Blitz Method.
• Receive access the survey results to help you in building your own downline.
  

Quickly go to:

http://www.squidoo.com/mlmsurvey

... and complete the simple 5-Question survey yourself right now and have prospects tell you how to sign them up!

P.S. There's also a section there where you can provide suggestions on what other questions you'd like added to the survey. I look forward to your input and will add your ideas to make this a community effort that benefits us all.

How To Get Mentally Prepared For Prospecting.

This question came to me from one of the this blog's readers and I thought it was a great one. Specifically - how to you get yourself mentally geared up to pick up the phone and start calling prospects.

I've only received this question from one person. So it's likely that most people haven't even considered the idea of establishing a ritual to mentally prepare themselves before making their calls.

Here's my answer:

For some people this is easier than for others. For me it was always a difficult thing to pick up the phone and call prospects. Over time I became very good at it, but I was never comfortable calling prospects. Therefore I had to come up with some techniques to help me overcome my "phone phobia."

These 3 things are helpful for me:

1. I want to be high energy, but not high-strung when I make the calls. Therefore I gauge my energy level and if I need to increase my energy a little before making the call, I'll take my company's energy product about 1/2 hour before getting on the phone.

2. I play music that gets me motivated. Your music selection will be a matter of personal taste, but play music that has a good upbeat tempo as well as a positive and uplifting message to put you in the right emotional state.

3. I make my first call to either an upline or downline member - someone already in the business. The first call is always the hardest. Just picking up the phone the first time each day can be the biggest obstacle. The best way to overcome that is to make the first call the easiest!

Call someone you're close to and is non-threatening, just to get on the phone. Then make your second call to a prospect. It's much easier to call prospects after you've already been on the phone and you're "in the groove."

So there's 3 tips that I've personally used and continue to use:

• Pick up your physical energy with a nutrition product.
• Pick up your emotional energy with motivating music.
• Pick up the phone by dialing a friend first.

Now just do it. It works!

"Take the Bull by the Horns"

I just returned from my trip to my favorite city in the world: New York City.

A lot has changed in the past 10 years.

There are signs all over the streets that threaten a fine of $350 for honking your horn! I barely recognized the city without all of the blaring car horns ... but it was nice.

Another thing that shocked me was that smoking is outlawed in all restaurants. In my home of California I can accept that, but no smoking in NYC? Never thought I'd see the day. But not being a smoker, it was nice.

Yes, New York has changed a lot, and mostly for the better.

One thing I still love about the city, that hasn't changed, is the aggressive attitude of the people. The former infamous rudeness has had the edges taken off, but the aggression is still there.

That's one of the things I always like most about the Big Apple.

I feel invigorated when I go there and mix with the people. It's contagious, and I find that when I step out on the street, the energy fills my mind and body and I'm ready to make things happen.

It's fun.

Quite a contrast to the average prospect who responds to an ad for a MLM opportunity. And that brings us to the lesson for today.

People in network marketing always ask me what "words" they should say to prospects. How to present, how to answer objections, how to "close."

Important stuff you need to know.

What if a prospect says, "I don't have much money right now to invest in a business."

You can tell them that is one of the biggest benefits of MLM. It doesn't take a large investment like traditional business does. What they lack in funds, can be compensated for by investing more time in their business.

What if a prospect says, "I don't have any time to invest in a business?"

You can tell them that unlike traditional business where you have to quit your job and do your business full-time, network marketing allows you to keep your job and work your business part-time until you feel comfortable quiting your job (when you're making more than your boss is paying you).

What if a prospect says, "I don't have any time or money?"

You can tell them to take a hike!

Seriously. For some reason most MLM distributors think they always have to come up with a way to answer every "objection" in a way that convinces the prospect to join their business.

Bull!

Exactly the opposite is true. Most prospects are NOT going to be right for your business (or any business) because they don't have an entrepreneurial attitude. So let them go ... Far away!

If someone doesn't have any time or money to do a business, why would you try to convince them to find a way to do the business anyway?

Loco!

You don't even want that person in your downline. They will drain you of all your emotional energy, fail, and then blame you, your company, and the industry ... spreading negativity and giving you all a bad name.

Spare yourself and them.

You only want people who are genuinely interested in your products and/or business opportunity. If you have to try too hard to convince them, then they won't be SELF-motivated ... and therefore they won't last.

An entrepreneur is someone who doesn't make excuses as to why they "can't" do this or that. They are people who TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS AND MAKE IT WORK!

Sort through everyone else and let them go as fast as possible until you find the person who has the resources to build a business:

• Time
• Money
• Entrepreneurial Attitude

MLM in the Big Apple!

Greetings Networkers!

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm going to be in New York City next week (July 2-6).

While I'm there I'm going to have a few extra hours to spare, so if you live in the area and would like some help with your Network Marketing business ...

I'm offering a few private sessions in the great NYC to any MLMers who would like to get together with me. These are designed to be one-on-one sessions (though I'll meet with small groups as well) during which we can discuss anything you want:

• Leads
• How to do a great presentation
• How to talk to prospects
• How to market on the Internet
• Learn something new!

It's wide open - anything you want - as long as it's something I feel I can really help you with.

If interested, send me an email at: barry@mademillionsinmlm.com

Be sure to include your name and phone number and the best time to reach you. I'll call you, we'll talk about what you want to discuss, and then set a time and place to meet in the city that never sleeps!

Keep on leveraging,

Barry Burns
Made Millions In MLM

Ask Barry: "How Do I Drive The Right Traffic To My Web Site?"

Today I'll share another question that came in through the "ASK BARRY" service. If you don't already know about it, this is a free service where anyone can post a question to a MLM Heavy-Hitter and get a personal response. Either click on the link in this paragraph or in the "Ask Barry" box in the right column.

Here's today's question:

"I recently joined [name of mlm company]. This is the first time I've been involved in anything like this online. My question is, how do I drive the right traffic to my website and convert them to buyers?

I've been using traffic exchanges, bought leads (thousands) and have only signed up 2 reps. Meanwhile people like [heavy-hitter name 1] and [heavy-hitter name 2] are raking in new members daily.

Please advise."

Thank you for your question.

There is a lot of hype about Internet marketing and how "easy" it is because people make a lot of money selling this information. Be very careful!

The truth is, for a person new to Internet marketing, there is no easy answer. Many people struggle to drive traffic to their site, and most fail miserably.

I'd start by contacting [heavy-hitter 1] and [heavy-hitter 2] and ask them what they do, since they're in your company. A warning though: They may not tell you the truth since a lot of what heavy-hitters do online is not duplicable, but they don't want to discourage you. This is not to say anything bad about the heavy-hitters personally since I don't know them.

My experience has been that people who are doing well marketing on the Internet either:

1. Have a TON of money they're investing into it every week.

2. Had an established online email mailing list and vehicle for driving traffic before they started with their MLM company.

You probably don't have either one of those things, so what do YOU do?

Not knowing the details of your background or what you're offering, it's difficult for me to give you specific help. However, here are some very important factors:

1. If you have a replicating web site you're at a big disadvantage because the search engines will penalize you. That means you have to pay for traffic.
2. Buying email leads is almost always a waste of money.
3. Traffic exchanges, FFA, ... all that stuff is mostly a waste of time, and again, can actually hurt you in the search engines.
4. Using Pay-Per-Click through Google AdWords and also Yahoo can work very well and is what a lot of heavy-hitters, including myself, are doing. However, you must know the inside secrets of how to do it. If you don't, then it will probably very, very expensive and ultimately a waste of money. It's certain there are other people in your same company with bigger budgets than you and you'll be competing against them. This drives up the cost per lead and makes it a very expensive way to drive traffic to most any MLM site.
5. The way to succeed online is to do something DIFFERENT! Create your own site that focuses on one unique aspect of your product so that you can establish a niche that isn't so competitive with other people in your company. Then you can win at the organic search engine game and also the pay-per-click game.

Bottom line - Internet marketing is a business unto itself and requires a learning curve.

If you're new to network marketing, then you're trying to learn 2 businesses at the same time, and that's tough to do.

That's the reality.

You may be dazzled by others who are successful, but remember: there's always a story behind the story. If they're successful now, it just means they paid their dues earlier.

Here are more resources to help take you to the next level:

1. "How to Generate Your Own Top-Quality Leads Online." A Special Report I wrote.
   
2. How to establish a unique niche within your MLM company to market. Free article.
   
3. The Definitive Guide To Google AdWords. Best book in the business from the guy who was my mentor.
   

If you decide to pursue this you have a bit of a learning curve ahead. On the other hand, it's definitely worth it as the Internet is a very exciting and profitable place to market once you learn how.

To your success,

Barry Burns

Ask Barry: "Is there anything I should worry about when prospecting: Can you lose a friendship?"

The new "Ask Barry" feature has been a huge success. I'm getting many people sending me questions ... and I answer every single one of them personally!

If you have a question for a MLM mentor, use the form and send me your question.

You can access the form from the "ASK BARRY" box on this page (5th box from the top in the right column).


Here's a question that recently came in:

"Is there anything I should worry about when prospecting: Can you lose a friendship?"

The answer I'm "supposed" to give you is, "Don't worry about it. If you really believe in your business, then you should want to share it with your friends and family first."

That's the "company line." And there actually is a lot of truth to it. However in real life it's not that simple.

There IS a danger of hurting friendships by approaching them with your business.

Many people do not like to mix business and friendships.

Money issues have broken many great friendships, and have even been cited as the #1 cause for divorce.

When you go into business with a friend or family member you are essentially becoming business partners. And everyone in traditional business knows that becoming a business partner with a friend is a very risky venture.

This doesn't mean that you should never do it.

It does mean that you should think about it carefully before you do.

It depends on the nature of your friendship and the other person's personality.

The best way to evaluate it is this: Imagine the worse case scenario - they join with you and they lose a TON of money! Now, can your friendship survive that?

Having said that, I have gone into business with a friend and our friendship survived just fine (though it was strained at times). But that friend and I are both extremely entrepreneurial ... in fact that's what brought us together. So it was already at the heart of our relationship. Plus there's a tremendous amount of trust between us, and I know my friend always takes full responsibility for everything in his life, and would never feel bad about losing money on something I told him about, because he knows he didn't have to do it. But I knew that about him before we started.

So take it on a case-by-case basis. I would certainly encourage you to approach your entrepreneurial friends if you know that your friendship could weather their failure in the business.

Again, you won't hear this from most Network Marketing trainers ... except me!

So congratulations to you for thinking about this and for valuing your friendships. A great friendship is invaluable. I'm so happy to see that you're treating it with care and sensitivity and not just blindly following what someone else tells you to do.

Keep thinking for yourself. Sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders and a good heart too.

To your success,

Barry Burns

"How To Make Money on the Internet"

No question about it. The Internet has changed the world. And it's not done yet!

If you're not marketing online, all I can say is "You're being left behind!"

Since people know I'm doing it successfully, one of the most common questions I receive is about how to market on the Internet.

Now I have a simple answer. And yes, it works for MLM and Network Marketing as well as anything else ... if you follow the right rules (which break the rules of most online MLM "systems").

If I didn't use it myself, I wouldn't share it with you. But the truth is I had 2 web sites through them, and now I just got 2 more. Why? Because it gives me everything I need better than any other service. And amazingly, it's also the most economical!

Nothing else comes even close.

Watch this video. It tells you about the tool that I personally use that works better for me than anything I've tried in the last 10 years:

Marketing Your MLM on the Internet

What's so hard about doing MLM online?

All you have to do is get a replicating web site from your company or upline, and people on the Internet will start coming and signing up. Right?

Wrong.

2 problems:

1. No one knows your web site exists. There are literally MILLIONS of web sites. How will people find yours? Through the search engines? Not likely. Type "MLM" into Google and you get over 17 million listings! Yours will never be found.
2. Search engines hate replicating web sites so much that they penalize them! So not only is it nearly impossible to be found online, but using a replicating site makes you an enemy of the search engines!

If you insist on using a replicating site, you'll simply have to buy your traffic. How do you do that?

1. You can buy opt-in leads and email them. This is worse than useless because not only are email leads you buy terrible quality, but they are most likely spam. Therefore you can get into a lot of trouble using those types of leads.
   
2. You can place ads in e-zines or on web sites. This can provide some results, but gets expensive.
   
3. You can use Pay-Per-Click. This can also produce results, but the keywords related to MLM are extremely competitive, so you'll be paying a premium price.

The best online traffic is the free traffic!

Ironic?

Perhaps, but very, very true.

A person who finds your site through a search engine rather than from an ad, is a superior prospect because they were actively searching for you.

A person who responds to an ad, passively came across your advertisement and then decided to click on it after seeing it.

The difference is - when did the thought enter their head:

• Before they heard of you, they took the initiative to actively search for you.
• After passively stumbling upon your ad, they responded to it.
  

The former are obviously the more qualified leads.

For this reason, free leads are better than leads you pay for.

But here's the catch:

It's EASIER to get leads through advertising. You simply buy ad space and you're set. But you pay, and there's no guarantee that people will click your ad, or that those who do will buy from you.

Generating leads "organically" by learning how to naturally place high in the search engines requires more knowledge, skill and time. So it's more difficult, but the rewards are far, far superior.

You do pay for "free" traffic, but the cost is not money, it's TIME. It takes more time to do everything you need to do to generate free traffic. It also takes more time for the search engines to index you and rank you higher and higher over time.

But the whole process is worth it.

If you'd like to learn the details of how to generate free leads online, get my Special Report: "HOW TO GENERATE YOUR OWN TOP-QUALITY LEADS ONLINE."

The best article I've ever read about this topic is free: "PUT THE 'NET' INTO NETWORK MARKETING."

If you don't want to go through the learning curve yourself, and want a step-by-step system that will hold your hand, help you create a site and generate free, natural online traffic, I only recommend SITE-SELL. In fact I use it myself!

Too Good To Be True?

In response to my last post, I received a lot of enthusiastic responses. Even phone calls!

But there were a couple people who expressed skepticism. "It sounds too good to be true."

The world is full of skeptics. And no wonder.

We're inundated with marketing hype all day and night. Therefore many people take a generally skeptical posture as a defense mechanism.

That's not always a bad thing. There is such as thing as a "healthy skepticism" after all.

Just don't let it prevent you from seeing genuinely exciting opportunities when they arrive. The world is a wonder-filled place and there are many good things to be enjoyed.

When it comes to lead generation (the topic of the last post), it's wise to be generally skeptical.

But once in a while something spectacular comes along, and when it does, you don't want to be late to the party, because it can transform your business overnight.

Was I right when I said in the last post that it's possible to get top quality leads for free?

Absolutely.

Is it easy?

It's not really hard, but it does take effort.

In marketing you have to make an investment of either time, money or some combination of the two.

The strategies that I provide in the Special Report "How To Generate Your Own Top-Quality Leads For Free" are used successfully by professional marketers every day.

However, since they're free, it will take an investment of your time. They're great for people that have more time than money.

If you have more money than time, you would want to use forms of paid advertising.

If you can't make an investment of time OR money ... well, then you're out of business!

MLM Lead Scandal, Part 4

The Conclusion.

So what is the best source for leads?

The warm market is warm in that they know you, but "cold" with regard to their interest in your product or business. Also it's numbers are limited, so you'll eventually have to find another source of leads anyway.

Advertising allows you to reach the masses, and it also allows you to prequalify prospects so they're "warm" before you talk with them. But advertising is very expensive and risky. You may run an ad for $500 that only generates 5 leads. It requires skill, knowledge and a big budget.

Buying leads from a professional lead company allows you to lock in a low and set cost per lead. But the quality of these leads is typically very poor.

There is one more alternative: Learn how to generate your own leads on the Internet ... for FREE!

There's a small learning curve to this, but it's very much worth the effort.

You'll need a simple web site. Nothing too fancy and definitely not your company's site or a standard replicating web site.

2 objections I hear often about this approach are:

1. ISN'T THAT JUST ANOTHER FORM OF ADVERTISING? True, it is a form of advertising, but I put this approach in a separate category because we're going after FREE traffic to your site, so it eliminates the problem associated with traditional advertising.
2. GETTING FREE LEADS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. It's not. Every Internet marketer who knows anything, is aware that it's possible to drive "organic" or "natural" traffic to your site for free through search engines.
   

Sure, you can buy traffic online as well (and I personally do), but the irony is that the free traffic is of better quality than the paid traffic!

This is because the traffic the comes to your site without being "pushed" there was searching for you ... they're the most motivated and genuinely interested in what you offer.

S.E.O. "Search Engine Optimization" is an big topic. So big that there are people who do it as a career. The topic is too big to teach in a Blog post, but I encourage you to learn all you can about it. I can tell you from personal experience that IT WORKS!

If you want a short-cut to learning how to do it, get my Special Report: "How To Generate Your Own Top-Quality Leads For Free." It's only $7 and will teach you all you need to get started.

MLM Lead Scandal, Part 3

In the last post we explored the issue of advertising and how risky and expensive it can be.

One solution to those problems is to turn your advertising over to the pros and to buy leads generated by their advertising.

There are several advantages:

1. You tap into people who are skilled in the area of advertising more than you are.
2. You pay a set cost per lead so you don't have to worry about getting slammed with a $500 lead from a failed ad.
3. Your cost per lead is less than it would be from your own advertising campaign because these companies sell their leads to more than one person and pass some of the savings to you.

That last one may sound like a disadvantage, but believe me, it's a total advantage to you. The idea of getting "exclusive" leads is elusive at best. People that respond to your own advertising have usually responded to many other ads as well, so they're far from exclusive ... but you're paying "exclusive" prices.

In addition, the other people who placed the ads your prospects respond to will generally not follow-up with their leads (most people simply don't), so you'll easily stand head-and-shoulders above your competition by simply following up in a professional and skillful manner.

Okay, sounds great. So what's the downside?

Only ONE.

Yep, just one simple downside.

One isn't much is it?

In this case it is HUGE!

The downside is that the leads are almost always of TERRIBLE quality! And I do mean HORRIBLE!

Why are they usually so terribly bad?

I used to own a lead generation company, so I've been around the block in that business and I know who really runs things behind the scenes.

No matter what they tell you ... most companies do NOT run their own ads. The vast majority of them have other companies doing the actual advertising for them ... and there aren't many different ones doing it.

Bottom line - much of what occurs is a bit shady.

Thankfully this is not true of all companies that sell leads. There are certainly good reputable ones. But most people's experience in buying leads is far less than favorable.

So what do we do?

There's one last choice. And it is the best solution. And I'll share it in my next post.

MLM Lead Scandal, Part 2

In the last post we explored the advantages and disadvantages of using the so-called "warm market" as your exclusive lead source.

Although it's a very viable approach, many people find it limiting or undesirable, so they turn to what's typically called the "cold market" and do some type of advertising.

Placing ads in newspapers, magazines, online, on radio or TV is exciting because you get prospects coming to you. Of course the downside is that unlike the "warm market," these leads are not free.

The cost of advertising is prohibitive to many new distributors.

It's not just that the ads themselves are expensive. What drives the cost of advertising up is the fact that advertising is a trial-and-error process.

I'm a marketing professional and have created some incredibly responsive ads and direct mail pieces. But even at this point in my marketing career, I often have to go through 9 ad campaigns before I hit one that pulls really well.

That means placing 9 ads ... and PAYING for 9 ads that fail.

Lost money.

Negative cash flow.

... but oh, when you hit that one super-successful campaign, it more than makes up for the 9 losers!

The question is: "Do you have the financial resources to weather 9 losing campaigns?" For most people the answer is clear.

But wait there's more!

I get a great result from 10% of my campaigns. But you (if you're not educated in marketing) probably won't do that well.

Most people in MLM do one of 3 things:

1. Create an ad off the top of their head (disastrous)
2. Look at other ads in newspapers/magazines and create something similar (disastrous)
3. Use a "proven" ad from their company or upline (disastrous).

Wow! This is gonna be harder than you thought!

Yep, it is. And that's why people who are masters at writing ad copy make big bucks. I mean they make HUGE bucks (the really good ones). They can get away with charging tens of thousands of dollars because they're truly worth it ... and they're a rare commodity.

Are you that good?

If not, you can get the "pros" to advertise for you for pennies on the dollar. That will be our next topic in Part 3.

MLM Lead Scandal, Part 1

Where do you find a high quality MLM lead?

This is a continuing debate in the MLM Network Marketing industry. Many Network Marketing Systems and MLM trainings are designed around specific lead generation programs.

So, where are the best leads?

Some Network Marketing coaches feel very strongly that the ONLY way to build a solid organization is through your own warm market - the people you already know.

So step one in your business is to make the famous "list" of 2,000 of your "closest friends."

They'll even give you a "tickler sheet" that will help bring to mind all the people you have ever known.

Though not as popular as it once was, this approach does have merit.

The biggest "plus" is that these are people you already have some sort of relationship with. In that sense they're "warm."

This is very important since no effective Network Marketing occurs until rapport, and a relationship of trust is first established. Working your "warm market" gives you a head-start when you need it - at the beginning of the contact.

But there's a downside to the warm market approach:

Although your list is warm because they know you, they are COLD in the sense that they haven't expressed an interest in your product or in a business opportunity.

Additionally, your warm market is limited. After you go through all the people you know, then what?

Sure, you can "tap root" down through everyone they know, and everyone they know, and everyone they know ... but sooner or later that well runs dry and you'll exhaust your circle of influence.

So at some point you'll have to consider other lead sources ... and that's what Part 2 will address.

"I Can't Afford Your Biz Opp"

Have you ever had a prospect tell you they don’t have enough money to join your business? Well, let me tell you right now …

IT’S A LIE!

I’m not saying they’re intentionally trying to deceive you, though sometimes they are, But whether or not they mean what they say … they’re WRONG.

Here’s how I know:

I used to own a telemarketing room. I had 20 people working the phones calling tens of thousands of leads for various MLM network marketing companies. We worked massive numbers and over time saw some clear patterns.

One of those patterns was that we could market a program that had a small or even no sign-up fee, and the most common “objection” we received was some form of “I can’t afford it right now.”

However, in following up with those same people, we found that they would sometimes sign-up in another program that had a buy-in of over $1,000 up front!

So why did they tell us they couldn’t afford a low-cost program, and then turn around and join a high-cost program?

Belief.

If people BELIEVE they will succeed, they’ll find the money to do a business.

Read that again – whether or not they actually have the cash (and most times they do), if they believe they will succeed at your business, they’ll FIND the money to get started.

Here’s another example:

I ran ads and had people call and listen to a qualifying voicemail message. On that message I told the callers that our business was MLM, what our product was, and that it would cost $200 to get started. Then I invited them to leave their name and phone number if they liked what they heard.

I’d call those people back the same day they called me, and still the #1 objection I got was; “I can’t afford it right now” … even though I told them how much it would cost on the recording before they left their phone number for me to call them!

Here’s a very different example:

A man I knew was out of work for 3 months, going through a divorce and being evicted. He truly had no money! He went to a friend to borrow $200 to join a MLM company. He went on to become one of the top earners in the company, making millions and millions of dollars.

His story represents the story of many others who, though they truly didn’t have the cash … they had massive desire. So they FOUND the money and went on to be wildly successful.

One of the benefits of our business is that you can get started for a pittance. If a person isn’t willing to make the puny investment necessary, it merely means they don’t believe the investment will bring a return.

“I can’t afford it right now,” is simply a knee-jerk reaction to protect one’s wallet. It’s the easiest excuse most people can think of. And they think it’s bullet proof.

Actually it’s full of holes.

Anytime a prospect uses that excuse, a sale is made. Either they sell you that they don’t have the money and cant’ get it, or you sell them on the fact that the resources are available if they have enough desire.

Never let them sell you, because the truth is, money is NEVER a legitimate objection. Whenever a prospect says that to you (and they’ll say it a lot), you need to translate it into “Reality Language.” And